Once upon a time, movie and TV studios simply hired F-grade developers to produce licensed video game adaptations of their latest IPs in the cheapest, swiftest manner possible. The end result? Nine times out of ten came a mediocre platformer bearing little-to-no resemblance to its source material and retaining virtually none of its merits.
But that era mercifully appears to have neared its end, both thanks to TT Games cornering the market on quality film tie-ins via its LEGO entries and the emergence of viral, often adorably retro companion games like the tense sewer-bound side-scroller released alongside horror flick IT last month.
Since TT are too hard at work on LEGO Marvel Superheroes 2 right now to contemplate other projects, a certain beloved Netflix show has received the latter treatment…
Takeaways:
- Enter Stranger Things: The Game, an unexpected mobile tie-in to the hit pulp sci-fi show which arrived on the iOs and Google app stores this week, costing only the time necessary to hit download.
- Should they spare that precious installation time to download this quirky 2D puzzler, players can look forward to travelling through familiar locales like Hawkins, Mirkwood Forest and the ever-deadly Upside-Down in the roles of the show’s core heroes.
- What’s more, like its source material, The Game pays homage to the 1980s via its quaint 16-bit-esque style, its Normal and tough-as-nails Classic difficulty modes and its abundance of retro collectibles such as VHS tapes, Eggos and Gnomes.
- There’s ample incentive to hunt down those hidden artefacts of a bygone age too, since doing so will unlock exclusive footage from the TV show’s soon-to-debut second season and “secret characters” to boot.
As with IT: The Sewer‘s limited replay value, we can’t guarantee that this latest endeavour to subvert the scorned norms of licensed film-video game adaptations will ease the wait until Stranger Things returns on October 27th, yet it’d be downright churlish to malign Netflix putting in the extra effort to tide fans over, especially if it’s a sure sign that we’ll never have to play another Thor: God of Thunder-rivalling atrocity again.
Be sure to let us know your thoughts on Stranger Things: The Game and the evolving state of film- / TV-inspired AAA productions in the comments section below.